“As previously announced on Myspace, VIRUS have parted ways with Season Of Mist and will take care of the release of our third album ourselves. We are just about to start mixing the album and are looking at a late (preferably November) 2010 release.

“However, since we no longer have a label contributing to the studio costs (SOM covered some, but not all, of the studio costs of The Black Flux), we have decided to let you, our fans be ‘a part’ of completing this album.

“As of now, you can pre-order the upcoming album The Agent That Shapes The Desert on vinyl, cd and as a special ‘fan package’ including a cd, a signed and hand numbered LP, a limited EP and a T-shirt. We have not set a release date in stone yet, due to the simple fact that it all depends on economy. The more pre-orders we get, the quicker we will be able to complete and print the album.

“This release will be a co-release between Virulent Music (our own label) and Duplicate Records (Einz‘ label) which will help with distribution and promotion. This means we basically do everything ourselves, with only some studio support from a few trust funds. We basically have to cover everything else (additional studio time, mastering, printing and promoting the album) ourselves.

“Thus, we hope as many of you will grab this opportunity to become our ‘benefactors’ so to speak, and order the cd, the vinyl or the special package. More details on the product follows below.

“Trust us, this is the album of our careers. Thanks for your support!”

Norwegian avant-garde metal trio VIRUS will be releasing their long-awaited new album, The Black Flux, on November 10th through Season of Mist. The follow-up to 2003’s twisted post-rock debut, Carheart, is said to encompass the same unique style of experimental rock/metal.

After the debut, VIRUS went off the radar for several years, not least because of songwriter/vocalist/drummer Carl-Michael “Czral” Eide‘s 2005 accident, falling five stories and making a two year-recovery.

Norway’s VIRUS, masterminded by Czral (a.k.a. Carl-Michael Eide, VED BUENS ENDE, DÃ˜DHEIMSGARD), have posted a rough-cut of a new song on their MySpace page. Czral talks about the track:

“We’ve just posted a new song. It’s a rough-mix WITHOUT BASS. Just like ‘Lost Peacocks‘, we’ve chosen to post it without bass. The reason for this, is that the bass is such a big element in VIRUS, and we want all of you to still hear something new when the album finally is out.

“‘Stalkers of the Drift‘, is the name of this baby. Not as massive as ‘Lost Peacocks‘. A different structure altogether. Slow and sad in the beginning, and building up towards a nice climax in the end. Lyrics are written together with Amniotic Sac, a lost girl from the dead city of Bolton, England. We’ve posted the lyrics as a bulletin to all our friends.

“Well, we’re still in the studio. Recording vocals. The bass is being done, as we speak, at Plenum‘s place. All by himself. Then, of course, we’ll have the mixing, the details, some guitars, and baking. Lots of baking. In spite of all this, we still hope The Black Flux is gonna be out spring-time, even though the time-noose is tightening quite a bit.

“PS: listening to this song more than twice might cause eczema.”

“Stalkers of the Drift” lyrics:

Feral aeroplanes, stalkers of the drift
You float inside the hollow waves
Like sleepwalkers on the ocean highway
See the blind cavalry, in their concave masks,
All lined up to fowl the beaches
Dead faces painted in the sands

They mimic themselves, hiding in the wastelands
Empty figures on the crests of the dunes
The desert sculptures
Paying homage to the wounds

With broken limbs they dance
The snakes and their proud owners
On parade out in the iron rain
The sun retreats as the caves drink the rivers

The feral aeroplanes (fuelled on black milk)
Chasing the winds
Upon the ocean highway
Gliding on raw silk
Cheered by broken clapping hands